''The Midnight Special'' is a 1962 album by

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer,

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

. The album notably contains the first officially-released recording by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, who plays harmonica on the title track. For many years the Belafonte session was thought to have been Bob Dylan’s first professional recording, simply because this RCA Victor album was released first. However, documentation found in 2001 in the RCA vaults along with the tapes dates the session definitively as having been recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, in February 1962. This places it later than Bob's recording session with folksinger

Carolyn Hester Carolyn Sue Hester (born January 28, 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. She was a figure in the early 1960s folk music revival. Biography Hester's first album was produced by Norman Petty in 1957. She made her second album for Tr ...

, which dates from September 1961, also in New York City, although her album was not released until later in 1962.

Track listing

Critical reception

Pig River Records
praise
"The Midnight Special"
on its 50th anniversary giving it 8.1/10.

Personnel

– vocals *Ernie Calabria –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Millard Thomas – guitar *Norman Keenan – bass *

Percy Brice Austin Percy Brice Jr. (March 25, 1923 – November 2020), nicknamed Big P, was an American jazz drummer. Brice was born in March 1923 in New York City. His professional career began around the end of World War II, when he played with Benny Carter ...

– drums *Danny Barrajanos – drums *

Don Lamond Donald Douglas Lamond Jr. (August 18, 1920 – December 23, 2003) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Oklahoma City, Lamond attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore in the early 1940s, and played with Sonny Dunham and Boyd Ra ...

– drums *Joe Wilder – trumpet solo *

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with Ch ...

– saxophone *

– harmonica on track 1 Production notes: *

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

– producer *Conducted and arranged by Jimmy Jones *Bob Simpson – engineer, mastering *Peter Perri – cover photo *Bob Bollard – liner notes

References

{{Authority control 1962 albums Harry Belafonte albums RCA Victor albums Albums produced by Hugo Montenegro Albums conducted by Jimmy Jones (pianist) Albums arranged by Jimmy Jones (pianist)